Malaysia’s Fairuz returns to F1 as Lotus-Renault reserve driver

Former Team Lotus F1 driver Fairuz Fauzy has been named the reserve driver for team Lotus-Renault for the 2011 Formula One season.

The main drivers will be Poland’s Robert Kubica and Russia’s Vitaly Petrov.
Eric Bouiller, the team principal, announced and introduced Fairuz to the Malaysian media at the Lotus GP facility here yesterday.
Also present at the announcement were Proton Holdings Bhd (PHB) chairman Datuk Seri Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, PHB group managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Taher and other PHB board members.
Bouiller also announced that 25 Malaysian engineers would be employed and based at the F1 facility here as part of a long-term plan.
Fairuz said his aim was to ensure that he would be a primary driver and not just a reserve driver for the team.
“I will be racing for the team in the GP2 series and I hope to win some points and medals with the aim of making it to the main team as a regular,” he said, adding that the F1 and GP2 races would run simultaneously.
“The GP2 will also use the new Pirrelli tyres as the F1 and this will definitely help me to get used to the car.”
Fairuz also revealed that discussions for him to join team Lotus Renault started as soon as he left Lotus Racing.
There were also reports linking him with a move to IndyCar racing in the United States.
He said he would do his best to contribute to the team, who have won world championship medals.
“Team Lotus Renault have very good plans and training facilities and I am sure I will benefit from it,” he said.

Lotus F1 team chief launches scheme for aspiring young drivers

Tony Fernandes' dream is to see technical wizard Ross Brawn and Formula 1's rising star Sebastian Vettel in his Lotus team one day, alongside an Asian face.

Many would say that is far-fetched.
But maybe they will not baulk when the AirAsia boss claims a Singapore driver could be among the mix of Malaysian and Asean drivers in his Lotus team within the next 10 years.
Fernandes made the brave prediction yesterday at his airline's academy near the Sepang International Circuit, where he introduced Singapore's Daim Hishammudin and Nabil Jeffri of Malaysia as the first two youngsters in AirAsia's Asean Driver Development Programme.The programme will provide a direct route into Formula 1 and towards the Lotus F1 team, which Fernandes resurrected last September, as well as the British-based Williams outfit, which has AirAsia as a sponsor.

"If there is one sport I believe we can compete in with the rest of the world because of our physical stature, it is motorsport," said Fernandes."We have the mental ability and good brains, and the successful Formula 1 drivers are smart, like Nico Rosberg who has a Masters in Physics."Daim, who has won several junior karting competitions in Malaysia, clinched a lucrative sponsorship deal from Malaysian banking giants CIMB earlier this year. He will make his debut in the Asian Karting Championships in the Philippines in June.
The 11-year-old's inclusion in the AirAsia programme means he could become Singapore's first Formula 1 driver.
"It's either Formula 1 or nothing else for me," said Daim. "It is the only dream I have and if I can't make it, then I will find a job doing something else, maybe an engineer in Formula 1.
The event yesterday was attended by Singapore's High Commissioner to Malaysia, T Jasudasen, and Singapore Motor Sport Association (SMSA) president Tan Teng Lip.
"I am very delighted that in the process of searching for young talent in Asean, Tony has picked a young Singaporean in Daim to join a Malaysian as the first drivers to groom for Formula 1," said Jasudasen."We have to admit that Malaysia is well ahead in the motorsport industry. They started the Formula 1 races at Sepang in 1999 and are ahead of the pack. We are behind the curve but hopefully, we will catch up in time."

Fernandes admitted that motorsports is expensive and the only way for the region to excel is to pool resources.
He said: "It is important for Asean to work together then to do everything ourselves because to put a driver into Formula 1 is beyond the budget of many of our countries. We have to bring down these invisible walls.
Daim will come under the wing of former Formula 1 driver Alex Yoong, who has mapped out a long-term programme to get the youngster into the top race in motorsport. Malaysia's Yoong will send Daim to Europe annually for training, starting with a two-month stint before the end of this year, and has set a target for the Singaporean to start racing in junior open wheel races by the time he is 15.

TODAY, Ian da Cotta

Lotus F1 unveils New Car in London

Malaysian F1 team a dream come true - thanks to the many sacrifices

Dreams do come true. Just ask Air Asia CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.
Five months ago, he was given the task of forming the Malaysian Lotus F1 Racing team.
Not one to shirk from responsibilities, Fernandes assumed the post of team principal and started from scratch.
With financial backing from the Malaysian government and some private individuals, he embarked on the mammoth task of building a car and putting a team together to race in the season-opener in Bahrain next month.
Lotus, however, won’t be the only new kid on the block. They will have three others for company – Virgin Racing, Campos Meta and USF1 Racing.
Fernandes admitted that there were a lot of uncertainties at the beginning.
But, as they took one step at a time and started to fit the right people in the right positions, things began to happen.
And all the hard work and sacrifices finally paid off, culminating in the launch of the visually striking green and yellow Lotus car at the Royal Horticulture Hall, in the heart of Westminster, on Friday.

And Fernandes stood tall – and proud – among the drivers – Italy’s Jarno Trulli, Finland’s Heikki Kovalainen and Malaysia’s very own Fairuz Fauzy (test driver) – on the stage as the T127, built in Norfolk, England, was unveiled.
“It has been a long five months. We started with nothing but today we are here with the machine, the drivers and a crew of about 130 to make our start in Formula One racing,” Fernandes said in his opening speech at the ceremony to officially mark the return of Lotus to Formula One racing after 16 years.
“There have been many unforgettable moments on this journey but, most importantly, I had the backing of people like Datuk Kamaruddin Meranun (Air Asia deputy CEO) and SM Nasaruddin SM Nasimuddin (Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd chairman), who shared my vision.”
And, as far as Fernandes is concerned, getting Mike Gascoyne to build the car was the coup de grace.
“He (Gascoyne) will give you a better idea of the car but, suffice to say, we are all excited at seeing our dreams become a reality,” said Fernandes.
“I must thank the team for a great job in getting the car ready. We will now test it and, hopefully, get good results.”
Fernandes also thanked the Malaysian government, especially Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad, for its support.
Fernandes also outlined in detail the team’s targets.
“To be honest, we are not expecting to win from the word go. But there has to be a gradual progression. We want to secure points and, of course, to win. But, for this year, we need to stay competitive and learn,” he said.

“I would certainly like to see us get on the podium.”
But, more importantly for Fernandes and the team, they want to start off by being ahead of the other three new teams.
“I think that is the realistic target for us. We will start to test the car and for now, we are not sure what lies ahead,” said Fernandes.
“Many were sceptical that we would even have a car ready. But here we are and I believe that we will be ready to start in Bahrain.”
The launching ceremony was a proud moment indeed for Malaysians and their British counterparts as they collaborated to bring Lotus back into Formula One.
“This is not the old Lotus but a new one embarking on a new journey,” said Fernandes.
The Lotus F1 Racing team will be managed by the 1Malaysia Racing Team.
The team, who will be flying the Malaysian flag, are a privately-funded project jointly owned by Tune Group and Naza Group.
Tune Group is jointly owned by Fernandes and Kamarudin, one of the team’s directors.
Other team directors are Naza Group chief executive officers SM Nasarudin and Zahri Ismail.

Lotus F1 Racing Revs Up One Week Ahead Of Schedule

Mike Gascoyne hopes the progress made by Lotus on developing their 2010 contender, will allow them to mix it with the midfield runners by the Spanish grand prix. Lotus will return to formula one racing in 2010 with Air Asia boss Tony Fernandes at the helm, after an absence of 15 years, along with three other new entries Virgin Racing, USF1 and Campos Meta.

Staff at the Lotus F1 factory in Hingham, Norfolk, said they have been braving the treacherous weather conditions and battling through the heavy snow and ice that has blanketed the UK over the past week, determined to continue work on their 2010 car.According to the team's technical director Gascoyne, this determination and commitment by the Lotus engineers has paid off, as development of the team's first F1 contender is well ahead of schedule.

A statement on the official Lotus website, quoting Gasgoyne, said: "We had been looking at firing up our engine for the first time on 12th February, but with the efforts everyone's been putting in we have now been able to bring that forward to 5th February.

"This is obviously a great boost for everyone involved in the team, and shows how much hard work has already gone in since we had our entry confirmed on September 12th."With the engine fire up date in the diary, we are also in a position to confirm that we will be on track for the first time at the third official test at Jerez from February 17th, and then at Barcelona from February 25th.

"We are also aiming to run chassis two for the last two days of that Barcelona test."With such a high rate of progress, Gascoyne said he is hoping the team can begin mixing it with the midfield runners at around the start of the European season, when Lotus will introduce its first major upgrade package of the year.

"We have said we are aiming to be ahead of the new teams when we all reach Bahrain, but we would also like to be pretty close to the midfield teams after the first few races of the season," said Gascoyne.

"The update we have planned for Spain will see a boost in performance when we reach Barcelona which will give us the chance to start fighting with the slowest of the established teams which, given progress so far, has to be the next goal for us."Lotus boss Tony Fernandes has been quoted as saying he has faith in Gascoyne and believes the team has a real shot at achieving results in 2010.

In an interview with 422race.com, the Lotus boss said: "Come March, we are on the grid. It's up to us how we'll perform after that."Despite the high rate of progress, Lotus has yet to confirm the date and the location of its 2010 car launch.The manufacturer became the first of the new teams to fill both its race-seats, taking on ex-McLaren racer Heikki Kovalainen, who lost his seat at McLaren to Jenson Button, and former Toyota driver Jarno Trulli.

In an interview with BBC Radio Norfolk, Kovalainen said: "For me my time with McLaren didn't work in terms of results, I didn't feel like I got everything out of the team."But I feel what I learnt from McLaren I will take into my future career and I will start from here."This is a good opportunity for me and hopefully I will be able to get everything out of the team and hopefully the results will show that."
11 January 2010, 12:00